Flexibility Is the Keyword for the New Generations

The year 2020 perceived an important turnaround in the labor sector, due to the health crisis caused by COVID-19, that drastic change has been generating impacts on people, demanding new job opportunities from companies. However, with the advent of vaccines, those strengths have been weakened by a sudden change in job perspective, as they are trying to implement the traditional model, where employees work eight hours a day.

However, freelance work has created new job opportunities and thus provided more quality family time, including providing travel options, according to the 2021 Labor Trends Index, which describes the findings of a study of more than 30,000 people in 31 countries and analyzes billions of signals on Microsoft 365 and LinkedIn. In addition, it includes diverse approaches from experts who have studied collaboration, social capital, and spatial design at work for decades.

Freelancer Versus Traditional Work

Workers want the best of both eras, that is, before the pandemic and after the health crisis, because 73% of employees surveyed want those freelancer work options to continue, while 67% cram time with their work teams. On the other hand, 66% of entrepreneurs are considering reengineering physical spaces to make them suitable for a fused environment.

That is why extreme flexibility and merged work will completely define the workplace after the pandemic. This means that workers want control of where, when, and how they work. There is even the possibility that they also want control of what they perceive economically.

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On the other hand, other studies such as the Trends in Compensation and Benefits in Latin America carried out by Mercer, show that the best ratio between the cost of living and economic income is identified in Peru, followed by Colombia, Mexico, and Chile. The least favorable countries are presented in Brazil, Argentina, and Panama.

Productivity Versus Digital Intensity

In the high production is hiding an exhausted workforce, because 54% feel overwhelmed with work and 39% feel exhausted. By the increase in work as a freelancer, this produced by the high digital intensity that has increased substantially, which indicates the average number of meetings and chats since last year.

In this sense and according to the 2021 Labor Trends Index, the time spent at Microsoft Teams meetings has almost tripled, that is, 2.5 times worldwide. In addition, the average team meeting is 10 to 15 minutes longer. The number of e-mails delivered to commercial and educational customers in February increased by 40.6 billion.

Millennials Appropriated the Digital Age and Labor Flexibility

The Millennial generation, characterized by their knowledge in technology and social networks, completely modified the paradigms and implemented new rules of the game in the labor landscape, these can be the following.

-Quality of life: Millennials value their family time and freedom.

-They want to work in ethical companies: Millennials are demanding ethical companies.

-Not working at the same company for their whole life: Most Millennials are given a maximum of 3 years in a company.

-Training and improvement: The Millennial generation is the most prepared in history.

-Gig economy: Millennials seek the economy of casual work.